Automatic circuit breaker



K. G. L. HOGEL.

AUTOMATIC CIRCUIT BREAKER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15 1921. 1,433,277.

Patented Oct. 24, 1922.

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Patented oct'. 24, 1922.

UNITED- STATES" 1,433,217 PATENT OFFICE.

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AUTOMATIC CIRCUIT BREAKER.

. which the electric current is automatically interrupted when the medium which surrounds the circuit-breaker. has reached a certain temperature.

In accordance with the invention, two contacts connected to the circuit conducting wires and situated at a certain distance from oneanother, and which carry or support between them one or more conductive bodies, servlng as circult-closers, are combined with a rod, arm,.11nk, or the l1ke, in such wise that the rod, on the temperature rising, owing to the deformation to which it is subjected by the rise of, temperature, removes the contact pieces further and further apart from one another, so that at a certain temperature the bod which serves as a circuitcloser is release and owing to its weight, or by some other; force acting on the body, is carried out of the contact position, so that the current is interrupted.

In order to make plain the invention, some forms thereof are shown in the accompanyin'g drawing. Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show circuitbreakers constructed in accordance with the invention in vertical section; Figs. 4 and 5 show such a circuit-breaker in two vertical projections at right angles to one another. Fig. 6 shows another form of the invention mounted in a contact holder connectedto a smoothing iron, shown in end elevation, the lid of the holder being removed. In the different figures corresponding parts are furnished with the same indicating numbers.

In Figure 1, 1 designates the two contacts which are carried by yielding standards 2, mounted on an insulating bottom plate 3 by means of screws 4, which at the same time serve to fix the connecting wires 5. Between the contacts 1 is inserted a loose body. 6 serving as a circuit-closer. Between the standards 2 is tightly fitted a rod 7, insulated from the standards 2 by intermediate pieces I 8. The rod 7 consists of some metal or other material which expands on being heated.

Application filed April 15, 1921. Serial No. 461,648. g

- The apparatus operates in the following manner: When the rod 7' expands as the temperature rises the contacts 1 are removed further and further apart from one another, until, on a certa1n temperature being reached,

they are separated so 'far that the body 6 falls down and the current thusis interrupted. As this interruption is effected rapidly, and as moreover the breaking of the circuit takes place at-two contact positlons, a practic'all spark-free interruption of the current is o tained.

According to the form shown in Fig. 2,

the removal or separation of the contacts 1 from one another is effected by means of the standards 2 composed of bimetallic elements, 1. e., of two metal strips 11, 12, welded or otherwise fastened to ether on each other and with different ooe cients of expansion,,75 for example'brass and iron. The metal or alloy which has the highest coefiicient of expansion 1s 1n this case placed on the inner slde. These standards, when heated, bend outwards from one another, and, on a certaintemperature beirig reached, the interruptlon of the current takes place in the same way as in the device illustrated in Fi 1. v

ccording to 3, the standards 2" are 35 composed of bimetallic elements 1 as in Fig.

2, but with the difierenoethat'in this arrangernent the metal which has the highest coefficient of expansion must be placed on the outside. Inthis case the standards 2 are notprovided with separate contact pieces fitte thereon: the actual standards, which are shaped in the 'form of a C, serve at-their 5 upper ends as contact pieces. In other respects this device operates in the same manner as that shown in Fig. 2.

In Figures 4 and 5 is shown a-.circuit-' I breaker which is arranged in such wise that when the circuit-closing body has fallen and thereby broken the current, it is notnecessary to touch the actual body in order to restore It to its position and thereby close the circuit; the circuit is closed merely by turning the entire circuit-breaker through a certain angle.

the shape of arms composed of bi-metallic 110 elements, and so bent as to form pockets 13 into which the circult-closing body falls This arrangement entails .the advantage that the circuit-breaker can are fixed on an insulated plate 3 with the aid of angular clamps or supports 14 to which the conducting wires are connected. The plate 3 is mounted on a horizontal shaft 9 in such a way that it can be rotated in the vertical plane. When the circuitbreaker assumes the position shown-in Fig. 4 and the circuit-closing body at a certain temperature falls out of the contact posi tion, it will assume the position 6, indicated with dotted lines, in the pocket 13. From this position the body can be returned to its contact position merely by turning the apparatus at an angle of 18 0 around the shaft 9. In order to protect the parts which conduct the current, they may be surrounded with a protective casing 10 in which, if desired, an openin may be made opposite the contact position =of the body 6 in order to facilitate inspection and to ascertain whether the current is closed or interrupted.

A circuit-breaker in accordance with the present invention may obviously be performed with other detailed devices than those described or shown on the drawing, while retaining the characteristic features of the invention. The actual circuit-closing body may conceivably be made in the form of a ball cylinder, or in other suitable forms. It should also be obvious that in the different forms the parts 2 and 2 may either, as shown in- Figs. 1 and 2, be provided with separate contact pieces, or, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.. themselves serve as contact pieces, i. e., be so arranged that the body 6, when the current is closed, rests against a part 1 thereof.

In- Fig. 6 is shown a circuit-breaker, constructed in accordance with this form, mounted in a contact piece or casing connected with the end of a conductor wire, which contact piece is connected to the contact pin on a smoothing iron,- which is shown in outline in end View, the lid of the contact piece being supposed to have been removed in order to show the construction more clearly. 30 designates the body of the 1ron, 14.17116 two contact pins, which are connected to the resistance coil in the body I of the iron. 15 designates the contact piece made of porcelain or other suitable insulating material, which piece is united in a known manner with the end 16 of the conductive wire. The one wire 17 is connected in aknown manner to thecontact sleeve 18 arranged 1n the contact piece in a known manner, while the other wire 19 is connected to a screw or a pin 20,130 which is fixed a bimetallic body or spring 21, coiled in a spiral, or bent or. shaped in some other suitable manner, which spring by the action of a conductive bod 22, suitably in the form of a ball or cy nder when in use at .-rectly (which is so arrangedthat it normally tends normal temperature, is conductively connected with the contact 23, which in its turn through the wire 24 is conductively connected with the other contact sleeve 25. The contact sleeves 18, 25 are, when in use, connected in a known manner on the pins 14, which are conductively connected with the resistance coil in the iron. Obviously the arrangement of the ins and sleeves may be reversed, the pins being fixed to the contact pieces and connected to the circuitbreaker in the manner indicated above, while the sleeves are arranged in the body to be regulated. If in the use of the iron or of the body, the temperature of which is to be regulated, the temperature should the said parts, but will fall'down into the position indicated by dotted lines in the' lower part ofthe space or chamber 27 in the contact piece, whereby the supply of current is interrupted, and a superheating of the iron or of the object in question is thus obviated.

When the circuit is again to be closed or the circuit-breaker to be restored to a current-carrying condition, the contact piece 15 is revolved, so that the ball 22 will roll along the wall 28 of the chamber 27 to the working position, i. e., in contact with the spring 22 and the contact 23.

In order to adjust the circuit-breaker to different temperatures, an adjusting-screw 29 is fixed in the contact piece. which di or indirectly acts on the contact 23 to stand away from the spring), whereby the said contact can be caused to approach the spring, so that the passage for the ball will be smaller, whence a greater contrac-- tion in the spring 21, and thus also a higher temperature is required for causing the breaking of the current.

This form has proved to be specially suitable for the purpose in question. In this specification and in the following claims the word metal is used as comprising also alloys of metals. It is, of course, obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the form of construction without, however, departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

Having thus described my invention I declare that what I claim is:

1. An automatic circuit breaker comprising a pair of contacts, a conductive body loosely carried between said contacts, and means associated with said contacts for separating the contacts upon subjection to a predetermined de ee of heat:

2 An automatic circuit breaker comprising a plate, a pair of yielding standards secured tosaid plate, a pair of contacts disr posed atthe upper ends of said standards, a conductive bod loosely carried between said contacts, an means disposed between said contacts for separating'the same upon subjection to a predetermined degree of heat. f

'3. An automatic circuit breaker comprising a plate, a pair of yielding standards secured to-said plate, apair of contacts disposed at the upper ends of said standards,

mi cusnv LENNART-HGGEL Witnesses: I

FORSTEN HOLMGREN AUG. HAGELIN. 

